Mirage Landscaping Contractors: Protect Your Calgary Business’s Trees

Whether your commercial property is in a picturesque, park-like setting or occupies a small green space in the middle of a few acres of asphalt, healthy trees and shrubs are essential to maintain a positive first impression of your business. But maintaining an inner-city garden can be very difficult, especially in areas of high traffic. Urban trees and shrubs face daily environmental and man-made abuses from close contact with human activity, and Mirage Landscaping Contractors has literally seen it all in and around Calgary over the course of three generations in this business. By far the most common cause of damage to trees and shrubs on commercial properties stems from human carelessness, and so the best way to keep your business’s landscape beautiful is through consistent care, repairs and maintenance.

Keep your eye out for signs of the following that indicate your trees and shrubs may need some extra upkeep.

Mechanical Damage

Powerful landscaping equipment, when not handled with caution, can wreak havoc upon your trees and shrubs. Weed-eater operators can accidently hit the trunks of your trees and wound their bark, possibly creating an easy entry for insects or disease. Industrial-strength “weedies” are powerful enough to strip bark enough to mortally wound young trees, or even mature shrubs and other smaller plants when used carelessly. Check for mechanical wounding of your trees and shrubs and if it is present, strongly consider giving us a call. There are steps you can take to “treat” your tree.

Strategies for avoiding physical damage to your trees and shrubs range from plastic weedie barriers around their trunks to using ornate shrub bed or tree grates or guards made from metal or masonry. Mirage Landscaping Contractors has experience in constructing and installing a number of different types of business landscape designs. Contact us for a no obligation quote for discussing the possibilities.

Soil Compaction

Another way humans unintentionally threaten urban trees and shrubs is through unintentional soil compaction. The vast majority of a tree’s mineral and food-carrying root system is within inches of the ground’s surface and within a surprisingly short distance of the trunk. This is why trees can still thrive if planted within the confines of a sidewalk. However, whether from a power riding mower continually running around a tree or repeated foot traffic, if soil becomes compacted and is not aerated, trouble will soon follow.

Plants do not just simply draw in carbon dioxide and release oxygen (called transpiration). They all also need oxygen as well. Soil compaction does not allow oxygen to enter the earth, causing an unhealthy build-up of carbon dioxide that inhibits the tree or shrub from growing vigorously. Soil compaction can also cause water that would otherwise be taken up by the root system to run off with reduced effect.

Environmental Damage

Be it from air pollution, inadequate moisture, or forces of nature such as wind, hail, lightning, or frost, there are a lot of forces assaulting your landscaping year round.

If your trees or shrubs are planted within sidewalk “vaults” or box planters above the surface, you cannot depend merely upon the rain to irrigate your urban landscaping. Trees and shrubs planted in such structures will have a more limited root system that won’t withstand drought as well. Mirage’s Landscaping contractors are well-versed in aerating, mulching and watering techniques for urban greenery.

Nothing can be done to protect your trees from lightning strikes and wind or ice storms. The key is what can be done in the aftermath to avoid the unnecessary loss of your landscape’s more expensive plantings. Our expert gardeners at Mirage Landscaping are experienced pruners and are able to trim back trees for the safety of the public and to salvage the long-term health of the tree.

The same considerations concern a subtler killer—air pollution. Automotive and industrial emissions and the micro particulates from wood smoke can all damage a tree’s leaves at the cellular level, causing local or general damage to the branches most exposed. Again, cutting away the damage can prevent a dangerous deadfall potential.

Mirage Landscaping Contractors Have Three Generations of Experience

There are a lot of hazards your trees and shrubs face from both manmade and natural causes, and we’ve really only scratched the surface. As always, the experienced landscapers and gardeners at Mirage Landscaping are more than happy to discuss any particular commercial, or residential, landscaping problem you may be having.